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FINAL: Ohio 6 (33-19), Bowling Green 2 (23-28) - Avon, Ohio (All Pro Freight Stadium)

OHIO STARTERS: Manny De Jesus (CF), Garrett Black (SS), Mitch Longo (LF), Jake Madsen (1B), Cody Gaertner (C), Tyler Wells (RF), John Adryan (3B), Ty Black (2B), Nate Squires (DH), Jake Miller (P)

BOWLING GREEN STARTERS: Kory Brown (CF), Brandon Howard (2B), Trey Keegan (C), Matt Smith (LF), Greg Basalyga (DH), Nick Glanzman (3B), Jesse Rait (RF), Tyler Greiner (1B), Brian Bien (SS), Jason Link (P)

THE BASICS
Behind a complete-game four-hitter from junior right-handed starting pitcher Jake Miller (Westerville, Ohio), the No. 3-seeded Ohio baseball team (33-19) opened the double-elimination 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship with a 6-2 win over No. 6-seeded Bowling Green (23-28) on Wednesday (May 20) at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.

Ohio's win provided the program with its first MAC Championship victory since a 15-6 elimination game victory over Ball State in 2009. The Bobcats won their first MAC Championship opener since a 14-4 win over Ball State in 2003.

Ohio advances to the winner's bracket for the first time since 2003. The Bobcats face either No. 2-seeded Kent State or No. 7-seeded Western Michigan on Thursday (May 21) in a 4:30 p.m. ET contest.



HOW IT HAPPENED
- Miller twirled his first career complete game at Ohio, fanning a season-high seven while allowing two runs -- only one of which was earned -- on four hits and two walks. He earned the pitching victory to improve to 5-3 on the season.
- Redshirt senior Garrett Black (Lima, Ohio) went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored.
- 2015 First Team All-MAC senior Jake Madsen (Cincinnati, Ohio) was 1-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk. He upped his program all-time hits record total to 279, which surpassed the 278-hit mark set by Akron's Kevin Haaas (2007-10) for the ninth-most base knocks in conference history.
- Senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) notched one hit while adding two RBI.
- Bowling Green senior right-handed starting pitcher Jason Link suffered the pitching defeat, falling to 5-4 on the year. He surrendered six earned runs on five hits and four walks over three innings.
- Junior righty Devin Daugherty tossed five scoreless relief innings for the Falcons, striking out three while allowing one hit and one walk.
- Bowling Green senior Brian Bien went 1-for-1 with two walks.
- The Falcons jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Junior Kory Brown was hit by a pitch in the first at-bat of the game and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by redshirt senior Brandon Howard. Bowling Green scored the game's first run when a grounder off the bat of redshirt sophomore Trey Keegan was misplayed by Ohio sophomore Ty Black (Waynesville, Ohio), allowing Brown to come home from second.
- Ohio answered in the bottom half of the first when junior Manny De Jesus (Caguas, Puerto Rico) led off with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Garrett Black and then scored on a two-out single through the right side by Madsen.
- The Bobcats took the lead with a three-run bottom of the third. Redshirt sophomore Nate Squires (Plain City, Ohio) got things started with a single through the left side, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by De Jesus. Garrett Black then sent a base hit through the left side, and Madsen followed one out later by drawing a walk to load the bases for Ohio. Redshirt junior Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) coaxed a walk to bump home Squires and give the Bobcats a 2-1 lead. Senior Tyler Wells (Lexington, Ky.) extended Ohio's lead to 4-1 with a two-out, two-RBI single back up the middle that plated Garrett Black and Madsen.
- Ohio kept the pressure on Bowling Green in the ensuing frame, adding two more runs. Ty Black led off with a base hit to left center, and Squires followed by drawing a walk to force Link out of the game. A sacrifice bunt by De Jesus moved Black and Squires into scoring position. Garrett Black cashed in on the opportunity, driving home both with a two-RBI base hit to center.
- Miller retired the side in three of the first eight innings while only giving up two hits.
- Bowling Green got a run back in the top of the ninth as junior Matt Smith led off with an infield single to third and scored one out later on a double off the wall in left by redshirt sophomore Nick Glanzman. That's as close as Miller allowed Bowling Green to get, though, striking out senior Jesse Rait and getting freshman Derek Drewes to ground out to second to end the game.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Ohio has won 18 of its last 26 games -- including 14 of its last 19.
- The Bobcats posted their first 33-win season since 2003.
- Third-year head coach Rob Smith picked up his first MAC Championship victory.
- Miller's complete game was Ohio's first of the season. Since entering the starting rotation, Miller has allowed 14 earned runs on 45 hits and 13 walks in 46 innings while striking out 37 in eight starts.
- Garrett Black has hit safely in a team-high 11 straight games and has reached base safely in a team-high 14 straight games. He posted his 14th multi-hit game of the year.
- Wells tallied his 10th multi-RBI game of the season and has reached base safely in 11 straight games.
- The Bobcats are now 3-1 all-time against Bowling Green in the MAC Championship -- including 2-1 in MAC Championship openers.

QUOTABLE
Third-Year Head Coach Rob Smith:
"(Miller) was really, really good today. You know, he flashed two or three pitches for strikes, predominantly his fastball and his slider. He was really, really efficient and did a good job of pounding hitters in the zone (against) talented hitters. Just an exceptional outing, our first complete game of the year, and he picked a heck of a time to give it to us."

Junior Right-Handed Starting Pitcher Jake Miller:
"I just told myself in between every inning that I had to go back out there and I had to get strike one, and that's what I started with. The team was making plays behind me, and it's pretty easy to pitch when you've got eight defenders behind you making plays." 

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